The English translation of An Anthology of the Tang Dynasty Poetry consists of the English versions of over one hundred Chinese Tang poems. As appendix to the book, it is the translator's article "Some Specific Thoughts on Rendering Ancient Chinese Poetry into English Metrical Verse," which was published in the Journal of Foreign Languages No 1 in 1983, and is supposed to be helpful to understanding of his point of view and style in the translation of ancient Chinese poetry into English.

About English TranslatorSun Dayu, born in 1905 in Shanghai, is a native of Zhuji County, Zhejiang province. His original name is Sun Ming-chuan and his style, Shou-zhu. Having successfully completed his courses, in the senior class, at Qing Hua College (now, Qing Hua University) in Beijing in 1925, he went to the U.S. to continue his education at Dartmouth College in 1926, and graduated as A.B. magna cum laude in 1928. During 1928-1930, he pursued a postgraduate study of English and American literature at Yale University, and then, came back in 1930 as professor of English literature at Wuhan University, Beijing Normal University, Women's College of Arts and Sciences, Beijing University, Qingdao University, Zhejiang University, Jinan University, Central Politics Institute, Fudan University and East China Normal University respectively. Chief works are The Book of Sun Sudan in A Collection of Modern Chinese Poetry, Sun Dayu's Book of Poems and Other Writings, Selected Poems of Chü Yuan (English Translation), translations of Shakespeare's works of Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice.